Sophie Willan

Sophie Willan is a British stand up comedian actress and writer Willan was born in Bolton in 1987 to a heroin addicted mother Her early life was difficult and she spent time in care She later worked as an escort and sex work is chronicled in her show onewoman stand up show Branded She became the recipient of the first ever Caroline Aherne Bursary award from the BBC for 201718 and has won several awards for her stand up including Edinburghs Best Newcomer in 2017 She narrates Channel 4 reality gameshow The Circle and is a regular in BBC1 sitcom Still Open All Hours as well as appearing in festive comedy Click and Collect alongside Stephen Merchant and Asim Chaudhry In 2021 BBC2 broadcast the first series of her semiautobiographical sitcom Almas Not Normal to critical and commercial acclaim